WALPOLE, N.H. – Savings Bank of Walpole is pleased to announce that Kristen Landau and Maygan Figueroa have been chosen as this year’s recipients of The Julie Tewksbury Scholarship for Working Moms. Each of them received a $1,000 scholarship.
This was the inaugural year for the bank-sponsored scholarship, which was created to help support the efforts of working moms who want to grow professionally and personally as well as become great leaders in their fields and in the community. The scholarship pays homage to longtime bank employee and working mom Julie Tewksbury, who served as senior vice president of Operations for Savings Bank of Walpole before retiring in 2020. Applications for this year’s scholarship were reviewed by a small panel comprised of local community leaders and bank employees.
Kristen Landau, 36, who has two young daughters, is a certified early childhood teacher and currently works for UNH Cooperative Extension on the Youth and Family Team. She recently became Teen Mental Health First Aid Certified through the National Council for Behavioral Health. In her role, she supports local school districts and other youth-serving organizations – an opportunity that sprung from working with a group of teenagers who asked if there was a training program available that would educate them on how to be better equipped to help peers with substance abuse issues.
Kristen plans to use her scholarship money to attend the annual National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals conference. “I feel so grateful for this opportunity – it’s not every day that a scholarship is awarded specifically for working mothers and it will facilitate my professional growth in a way that is currently not possible,” says Landau. She adds that attending the conference will provide her with the opportunity to learn more about what other 4-H Extension professionals from around the country are doing in their counties in terms of youth development programs and will allow her to attend meetings that discuss the latest research in her field. “Ultimately, attending the conference will help bring me to the next level as an Extension educator.”
A lifelong animal lover, Maygan Figueroa, 32, has worked at Walpole Veterinary Hospital since October 2019 where she assists Dr. Charles Shaw. The Westmoreland resident has spent the past four years studying to become a certified veterinary technician while also caring for her daughter (who is now 10) and helping her husband on the Windyhurst Dairy Farm where the family currently lives. Maygan says she has always wanted to be a large animal veterinarian, specifically a food animal veterinarian and is determined to get her degree.
As she is paying out-of-pocket for her education to avoid incurring school loan debt, she plans to use her scholarship money to go toward tuition as she studies for her animal science degree. “My ultimate goal is to go to veterinary school and come back and work right here, in the community that I love,” says Figueroa. “I am thankful that there is a scholarship specific to working moms. It has been a struggle to balance everything, and this scholarship will help with my school bill tremendously.”
“We’re proud to congratulate Kristen and Maygan on being named as our scholarship recipients,” says Mark Bodin, president for Savings Bank of Walpole. “Their hard work and dedication are inspiring and we’re glad to be able to champion their career growth and, ultimately help with their future accomplishments.”
For more information, visit www.walpolebank.com or call 603-352-1822.